Survey on laboratories and consultants working in the diagnostics of European seabass and gilthead seabream diseases: preliminary results (original) (raw)

Diagnostic Manual for the main pathogens in European seabass and Gilthead seabream aquaculture

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), 2020

Foreword MedAID (Mediterranean Aquaculture Integrated Development) is a European H2020 Research and Innovation Project approved in 2017, with the main objective of increasin g the overall competitiveness and sustainability of the whole value chain of the Mediterranean marine aquaculture sector by improving its technical and business performance and by shifting to a sustainable market-oriented approach with a higher social and consumer perception. In the field of disease control and welfare (Work package 4), MedAID aims to provide essential components for a better health and welfare management system for the Mediterranean marine aquaculture industry both at an overall and at a company level. The development and dissemination of up-to-date diagnostic manuals and media platforms will allow an efficient networking between stakeholders and experts, and a diagnostic harmonisation at Mediterranean level.

Deliverable 3.1 - Diagnostic methods for Mediterranean farmed fish

2020

Despite the technological progress applied in recent years to the various production phases of Mediterranean Marine Fish Farming (MMFF), from reproduction to nutrition, several welfare and health issues of farmed fish still represent relevant limiting factors for sustainable production. In particular, the attempts to increase and diversify MMFF productions have been often accompanied by the emergence or reoccurrence of transmissible diseases strongly conditioned by management and environmental factors with consequent significant economic losses and repercussions on fish welfare and health parameters. The experience gained in the attempt to control diseases has amply demonstrated that the treatment (when applicable) is often not conclusive, highlighting that the "disease event" is the result of many interacting factors linked to the pathogen, the host and the environment (intended as production system and surrounding ecosystem), which underly the occurrence of disease and i...

Workshop: How outputs from EU projects can upgrade health management in the Mediterranean aquaculture

Bulletin of The European Association of Fish Pathologists, 2022

Aquaculture of European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) is an essential activity in the Mediterranean basin. Several EU Horizon 2020 and regional projects are focusing on the improvement of their farming performance. This workshop aimed at displaying, sharing and discussing projects' achievements among interested colleagues engaged to work with fish diseases. The most innovative research outputs aiming to improve the European mariculture were presented during this workshop, including updates from EU Horizon 2020 projects MedAID, PerformFISH, ParaFishControl, FutureEUAqua and the Italy-Croatia Interreg project AdriAquaNet.

Fish health in Mediterranean Aquaculture, past mistakes and future challenges

Bulletin of The European Association of Fish Pathologists, 2016

A significant production in European aquaculture consists of production of approximately 135.000 tons of European sea bass and 139.000 tons of gilthead sea bream in the Mediterranean basin according to FEAP. Despite the relevance of these species, both in terms of production and economic value, no specific provision is given in the legislation regarding the survey of important diseases. All information available about infectious diseases and priorities to further develop this production are quite fragmented and jeopardized. Since 2012 EURL for Fish Diseases started a survey involving a number of private and institutional experts depicting the most important diseases. Each year the data are compiled and presented at the EURL Annual Workshop. The increasing relevance of the health aspects in the Mediterranean aquaculture seems to require more accurate and comprehensive interpretation involving as much professionals as possible. The initiative of this workshop was build in order to cre...

Deliverable 3.2 - Epidemiological status of Mediterranean farmed fish

2020

As many other farming activities, aquatic animals and particularly finfish can be affected by several infectious and non-infectious diseases. The specific diseases and pathogens or other causes triggering the development of these diseases, since there are usually multifactorial, can be related to a number of different factors: characteristics of the infectious agents, affected fish species or genetic susceptibility, environment and environmental conditions, geographical parameters, and farming systems amongst others.

DISEASE SURVEILLANCE AND DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES IN FISHES - A REVIE

JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY, 2015

Disease is a condition of a living animal that impairs performance of vital functions and can be induced by environmental and nutritional factors or infection by pathogenic microbes. Disease outbreak could be a consequence of complex interaction between the host, pathogen and environment. Some of the most serious problems currently faced by the aquaculture sector are caused by those pathogens and diseases that are spread through movement of hatchery produced stocks, new species introduced for aquaculture and via ornamental fish trade. The Asian aquatic food production has already been seriously affected by the outbreak of several diseases. In view of this, it is necessary to take appropriate practical measure which can minimizes the risk of introduction and spread of pathogens is of urgent need for sustainable growth of this sector. Primary pathogens can cause mortality even when other environmental factors are adequate, whereas opportunistic pathogens normally present in the natural environment of the host can cause mortality only when other physiological or environmental factors are very poor. Clinical signs in fish with diseases are rarely pathognomonic, and laboratory examination and tests for identification of pathogens are necessary for diagnosis of infectious diseases. Submissions to a laboratory for diagnosis should include suitable specimens of fish, water and any other material that is suspected to be involved, and a complete history. The present study focuses on factors that cause disease to the aquatic environment and the recent trends and techniques of disease surveillance, monitoring, treatment and control in fishes which will help the fish farmers in reducing risks arising due to occurrence of disease and maintaining disease free aquaculture and sustainable production. Key words : Aquaculture, disease, diagnosis, surveillance, sustainable.

Occurrence of diseases in fish used for experimental research

Laboratory Animals, 2019

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the occurrence of pathogens and diseases in laboratory fish over a 10-year period at the Centre for Experimental Fish Pathology of Sicily, University of Messina. This report also emphasizes the adverse effects of subclinical infections on research endpoints, as well as the importance of animal health with respect to welfare. Infections in fish used for research can alter experimental outcomes, increase the variability of data, and impede experimental reproducibility. For this purpose, 411 diseased fish of different species (out of a total of 2820 fish) that belonged to four marine species ( Dicentrarchus labrax, Sparus aurata, Argyrosomus regius and Mugil cephalus) and to four fresh water species ( Danio rerio, Carassius auratus, Xiphophorus variatus and Poecilia reticulata) were examined in this study. Our results showed that mycobacteriosis and myxosporidiosis were the most important diseases found in our research fish, and the re...

Diseased fish in the freshwater trade: from retailers to private aquarists

Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, 2019

Millions of fish are transported between countries annually for the aquarium trade, yet no quantitative study has examined how disease frequency differs among species and stakeholders. Here we visually inspected freshwater fish species in 12 specialised and non-specialised aquarium retailers in Spain for the presence of diseased fish in 2015 and in 2016. This information was complemented with disease records from 3 internet fora (>100 000 users) and pathogen identification at a retailer. Overall, 22 fish species out of the 312 recorded were reported diseased, with species of Poeciliidae accounting for most records. Ichthyophthirius, dropsy, bacterial and monogenean infections were the most common diseases, but disease frequency differed amongst retailers and private aquarists. Although only 11 fish species at retailers were deemed unhealthy, they were popular species amongst aquarists. We encourage improved management of fish stocks, and more education campaigns to promote fish welfare and avoid misdiagnosis in the Spanish aquarium hobby.